Fullmetal High School
by Rabbitfoot
Summary: We all know the Fullmetal crew as scientists and soldiers... but what would happen if those personalities were forced to interact in a different setting - high school? A stupid spoof of a fanfic I wrote because I was inspired and bored. Mostly bored.
1. Part One

The boy with the prosthetic limbs and the boy with the mop of shaggy black hair sat side by side in the chairs of the principal's office, listening nervously to the amplified ticking of the clock. Eventually, the first boy began to fidget, tapping his fingers on the side of the chair, while the second merely pretended to act uninterested. But although the two children were handling their anxiety differently, the same feeling possessed both of them.

After an impossibly long silence, the door to the room creaked open, causing both boys to flinch slightly. A severe looking man with a very angular face and an eye patch across his left eye walked into the room. None of the students knew why Principal Bradley wore the patch, and it added to his air of mystery. At the moment, however, the mystery of Bradley's eye patch was the last thing on the boys' mind.

"So," the head of the school said, in a tone that suggested something graver was coming. He sat at his desk and turned on his computer, busily clicking through the student files. The boys turned their heads simultaneously to make eye contact for the first time since the incident that had landed them there, only to look away instantly in pure contempt.

"Edward Elric." The boy's metal hand stopped clicking on the wood of the chair he was sitting in, and he looked up at the principal's desk with unconcealed dread. "A model student in every way but one: you're notorious for losing your temper. You've gotten into more fights than any other student on campus. Am I right?"

Edward said nothing.

Bradley smirked slightly and went on. "Roy Mustang. Also a very bright student, but with one recurring problem. Care to tell me what?" When Roy was silent, the principal continued. "You've been kicked out of the science lab more times than any other student in this school's history. According to your teachers, you've had a slight… obsession….with setting the building on fire. Quite the pyromaniac, aren't you?"

Roy pushed his hair out of his face, not making eye contact with Bradley. "Yes, sir."

Bradley laughed. "How brazen of you to admit it, Mustang. But this is something that needs to come to a stop. Did they check you for matches at the front gate like I told them to?"

"Yes, sir," the boy said, looking straight at the principal for the first time. "And they found none."

Narrowing his eyes, Bradley considered challenging his student's precarious wording of his response, but with a sigh decided he had more important matters to attend to – although Roy would definitely be kept under his watchful eye in the future. "And what do you two troublesome students have in common? You've hated each other for years. It's the first day of the school year, and already you two have gotten into a fight on the campus –again. Care to explain yourselves?"

Edward opened his mouth angrily to speak, while Roy raised his hand calmly.

"Yes, Mustang?" Bradley acknowledged him. Edward leaned backwards hastily, his red face due to anger rather than embarrassment.

"It couldn't be helped, sir." Roy spoke calculatedly, with the mixture of humility and confidence that had helped him weasel out of trouble with teachers countless times in the past. "True, my taunts of Elric were uncalled for, but the fact that he chose to interpret them as provocations to physical violence was his own choice. Our tussle was merely my response of self-defense to his attack. I apologize for the trouble this has caused, sir."

Edward stood up, unable to contain himself any longer. "Just once I'd like to see Mustang treat me with more respect than a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe!" he shouted, making his point far less eloquently than Roy.

There was a prolonged silence, then Bradley spoke. "Mustang?"

Roy blinked. "Yes, sir?"

"You're excused."

Horrified, Edward slammed his fist into the chair. "You can't be serious! How come he gets off easy and I – and I –"

"Physical violence is your problem, not his, Edward Elric," the principal explained. "But – Mustang – the next incident I hear of a fire in the science building…no amount of charming talk will get you out of that. Understood?"

"Yes – yes sir." Roy faltered slightly. "Thank you, sir." Before leaving the room, he shot a completely disdainful glance in Edward's direction from an angle where the principal couldn't see. _This isn't over, Elric,_ the look seemed to say, and Edward returned the message with an equally scathing expression. Smugly, Roy smiled at the acceptance of the challenge, and left the room.

Edward turned his attention back to Bradley. "…Sir?"

Bradley smiled. "Ah, yes. This is the point of the discussion where I decide the severity of your punishment."

***


	2. Part Two

Shezka glanced after Roy as he walked away and joined another black-haired boy. "So the kid who just came out of the principal's office…that's Roy Mustang?"

Winry nodded. "Total pyromaniac. He's set the science building on fire more times than anyone can count. But all the ladies love him – I mean, who wouldn't? He's good-looking _and_ smart."

Shezka shrugged. She was new here, and Winry had taken her under her wing, helping her find her way around and introducing her to students. "And the boy he's talking to?"

"That's Maes Hughes," Winry replied. "Mustang's very best friend. Surprising that they get along; they're so different." When she noticed Shezka staring at Hughes a bit longer than normal, Winry giggled. "Don't get your hopes up about dating him. Everyone knows how much he fawns over his current girlfriend, Gracia. They've really got something going between them."

"I…I wasn't staring!" Shezka blushed.

Winry laughed. "I didn't say you were. Why so defensive?"

Before Shezka could think of a cogent answer, the bell rang, jolting her back to her senses. "Oh – we better get going. Where are you going next?"

"Science. You?"

Shezka sighed. "I have first period English. Well…thanks for showing me around. See you!"

Her new friend smiled warmly. "See you around, Shezka." She skipped off merrily in the other direction.

Too late, Shezka realized she was lost, and frantically looked around for the science building. In the midst of her panic, she felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and she jumped, emitting a slight squeak.

A voice behind her laughed, and she turned around, mortified, to see Hughes, who had suddenly appeared behind her. "First period English? Me too. You seem lost; mind if I show you where to go?"

Shezka, both embarrassed and relieved, shook her head. "Thanks so much for offering…Hughes, right?"

The boy grinned, and Shezka was suddenly aware of her own square glasses in contrast to his stylish ones. "Right! Now…let's go!" He grabbed her by the hand and began pulling her forward emphatically, as if he were kidnapping her.

By the time they reached the science building, Shezka was in a daze. Hughes was far more sociable and energetic than she ever would have imagined from afar, and his energy was beginning to wear her out. "Thank you so much for taking me here," Shezka said, and she meant it.

"No prob!" Then he added, "Hey, I never asked your name."  
"It's Shezka…"

"Shezka, huh?" Hughes nodded. "Well… I hope you really enjoy your time at Central Academy, Shezka!"

***


	3. Part Three

"...I can't believe this."

Alphonse tilted his head at him. "What is it, big brother?"

Edward Elric's younger brother, Alphonse Elric, was a sweet and caring person that everyone liked. Like Edward, Alphonse was also good at fighting, maybe even better – but he never got into unnecessary fights. He also had a soft spot for animals, especially cats, and he constantly tried to adopt kittens off the street. But because Edward wouldn't allow it, Alphonse volunteered at the Animal Humane Society after school, since that was the next-best thing.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M STUCK IN SCIENCE CLASS WITH MUSTANG."

Alphonse patted his older brother on the shoulder. "Aww, it'll be okay, Ed. Winry's in there too."

Edward snarled. "That's even worse! He'll be hitting on her – I just know it!"

Sighing exasperatedly, Alphonse replied, "You know he's never gone after her before…"

"He challenged me!" Edward snapped. "Even though he won and I lost and I have detention every day for a week – he's still not satisfied. Besides, he hits on _everyone_."

"Ed –" Alphonse's impatience was growing. "Winry doesn't even _like_ Mustang."

Then, without warning, Edward dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans, yanked out his pocket watch, and flipped it open. "Damn! I'm gonna be late!" With a burst of energy, he began a mad dash towards the science building.

"Brother…!" Alphonse heaved an even greater sigh. His brother could be so impulsive sometimes, and Alphonse knew he wasn't nearly stubborn enough to stop him. _Ed needs someone more like Mustang to match his power and control his temper… problem is… the two hate each other's guts._ _What a hopeless situation._

A soft hand tapped him on his shoulder, and Alphonse turned around, distracted from his thoughts, to see May Chang, a hopelessly-cute little girl who carried around a stuffed panda everywhere she went, standing behind him. In reality, May was only a year younger than Al himself, but she had skipped a grade. However, she was so little that she could have easily passed for a sixth grader.

"Hiya, Al!" May grinned up at him, and Al was aware – not for the first time – that May had a huge crush on him. "I'm in your History class. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah!" he responded genuinely. "It's good to see people around that I know. Wanna walk to class with me?"

May beamed. "Sure!"

As they walked, Alphonse amusedly listened to May chat about her summer. Once they arrived at the classroom, they ended their discussion and took their seats, glancing at the board to see what the topic of discussion for the year was. Alphonse's good mood plummeted as he saw what was written there: The Ishbal War.

"I don't want to learn about something awful like that!" Alphonse hissed to May.

Despite being born in a different country and not having as many personal connections to the war, May's eyes were troubled. "Who would teach something this controversial when the wounds the war left aren't completely closed?"

May received her answer when the door opened, and a tall, sinister-looking man who was almost definitely their new teacher walked in. Alphonse noticed that he seemed a little… odd, with a black ponytail contrasted by his stark white suit. Instantly, he put his guard up.

The man grinned and sat down behind the teacher's desk. "My name is Dr. Kimblee. I won't have you addressing me by anything other than that or 'sir'. I don't take any nonsense, so if I catch you talking in class, you _will_ go to detention. Understood?"

No one said a word. The frightened silence answered Kimblee's question for him.

"S-sir," Alphonse finally broke the silence bravely, "Why are we learning about…such a subject?"

Kimblee's eyes narrowed, but a smirk twitched at the ends of his mouth. "Because…" He scanned the class list for Alphonse's name. "Because, Alphonse Elric, it was a very…memorable point in our history. And I was there. Any other…_questions_?" The way he asked invited no one to speak, and everyone held their tongue.

Alphonse decided he didn't like History very much.

***


	4. Part Four

"…Why is it that all the boys in our grade are total idiots?"

Olivier and Izumi, two girls who were well-known for being cold and unfriendly, had just been released from their first class of the day, Math.

"Ugh. I know." Izumi sighed. "Did you see how Jean Havoc was flirting with me? God, that guy needs to get a life."

Olivier nodded. "Did I tell you that Roy Mustang called me over the summer and tried to hook up with me?" The look on her face was pure disgust.

Smirking without humor, Izumi replied, "He's been trying to get you to go out with him since before high school. You should humor him at least once."

She scoffed. "I don't give a damn about Mustang. He could move to Xing and become a monk for all I care."

"Unfortunately for you, I don't think there's any chance of that happening."

"Maybe he'll get expelled one of these days."

"Wouldn't that be nice?"

Together, both girls continued their walk to their lockers, fantasizing about ways to get Mustang out of their way. By the time they had switched out their books and materials to go to their next class, their perverse fantasies had put them in much better spirits.

"I'm going to go meet Buccaneer and Miles before my next class…see you, Izumi," Olivier said, naming two of her best friends.

"Yeah, see you," Izumi echoed, already distracted by another obnoxious male presence in her life coming down the hallway towards her – Edward Elric. Even though he was younger than Izumi, the two had a deep rivalry that had started back in junior high, when Izumi, a science genius, had helped Edward with his homework the entire year. Now his science knowledge had nearly surpassed hers, and their annual duel to win the science fair had become legendary school-wide.

"Elric."

"Curtis."

The two stared each other down for several seconds, until Izumi turned towards her locker and proceeded to fiddle with the lock.

"Don't ignore me!" Edward shouted.

"Keep your voice down in the hallway," Izumi responded calmly, knowing how much this would irk him.

It did. "Rrrgh! Don't play so cool with me!"

Izumi swung open her locker door sharply, nailing Edward in the face. He staggered backwards, bruised and fuming, and she smiled in her triumph. "Sorry about that. It was a total accident."

Edward, unable to prove otherwise, stomped off melodramatically in the other direction.

Izumi nodded to herself. "What an idi—" Without warning, she felt a familiar pain in her stomach, and gasped for breath, collapsing onto her knees. Coughing blood into her hands, she attempted to pull herself upwards, trembling with panic.

"_Izumi!_" Unexpectedly, Edward was standing beside her again. "Are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse?"

Already, she could feel the worst of it passing. "I'll be fine…" She staggered to her feet, legs shaking. "I'm fine!" she repeated, angry with her condition.

Edward narrowed his eyes. "I was just trying to help!"

"I know. I know." Desperately, she tried to clear her vision. "I'll be fine."

Ever since she was little, Izumi had trouble breathing due to a birth defect in her abdomen. Occasionally, she would have fits similar to the one she had just experienced. Her own inner weakness restricted her, and she resented it.

"Thank you," she muttered sheepishly, and, without waiting for an answer, left to her next class.

***


	5. Part Five

"Hey, Roy!"

The boy turned around, lost in his own thoughts. Spotting his friend, Roy's face considerably brightened, and walked around the crowded lunch line to meet him. "Hey."

Hughes grinned. "Too bad we have to sit with our advisors for lunch today. I wanted to tell you –" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and gave Roy a look that was supposed to convey suspense.

Roy groaned, knowing what was coming.

"…How awesome and amazing Gracia is!"

Roy heaved a sigh, and prepared to tune out Hughes.

"The way she smiles at me with those big green eyes of hers… what?" Hughes had just noticed Roy's annoyed expression. "Oh, I get it. You're jealous of how wonderful Gracia is, aren't you?"

Before Roy could protest, Hughes plowed right ahead. "She's a perfect girlfriend. Say, Roy, why don't _you_ have a girlfriend yet?"

Attempting to keep his voice from shaking with impatience, Roy responded, "It has nothing to do with me being _jealous_ about Gracia. Good for you. You have a nice girlfriend. _I'm sick of hearing about her."_

Hughes shrugged. "So why _don't_ you have a girlfriend?"

Roy wanted to punch him. "I tried to ask Olivier this summer." He hoped that answer would satisfy his friend.

Nodding in sympathy, Hughes said, "Ah. Still giving you the cold shoulder?" He put his arm around Roy in mock sadness. "I feel for you, buddy."

"I don't need your pity!" Roy rolled his eyes.

"Hey, look, Shezka!" Hughes said, completely changing the conversation. "She's new," he added to Roy. "I'm trying to get her introduced to people. Hey! Shezka!"

A girl with medium-length auburn hair and ridiculous-looking square glasses turned her head to see who was calling her, and promptly turned a violent shade of red when she realized who it was. "Shezka! Get over here! I have to introduce you to a friend of mine!" Then, to Roy: "Do you think I'm embarrassing her?"

Roy's face was buried in his hands. "You're embarrassing _me_, that's for sure."

By this point, the girl named Shezka had made her way over sheepishly. "Shezka, this is Roy. He's a good friend of mine."

Looking at Shezka's expression, Roy knew exactly what was going through her mind: _How can the two of _them _be friends?!_

Roy sighed. He and Hughes got weird looks like that often, since their personalities were very different. Yet in a lot of ways, the two were the same as well, and people tended to overlook that, too busy focusing on the artificial differences between them.

"Nice to meet you." Roy offered his hand to her amiably.

Shezka took it, looking a bit unsure of herself. "Yeah… you too…"

Roy could tell she was struggling to say something else. He waited patiently.

"Why… why do you do what you do to the science building…?"

He was taken aback. Everyone knew him for setting the science building on fire, but no one ever had the courage to ask him about it. This girl, this Shezka, looked too meek to even ask him about the weather. But, apparently, he had gotten the wrong impression about her.

_Perhaps the lame cliché "never judge a book by its cover" is more correct than I realized._

Roy took a deep breath. "Well… I…"

Shezka interrupted before he could stammer any more of a reply. "It's dangerous! You're still destroying school property! Someone could still be hurt! I made a new friend today. Her name's Winry… she's in your science class…"

"I know Winry," Roy interjected.

"Yeah!" Shezka looked angry. "She could get hurt because of your… your… you better not do it again, Roy Mustang." With that, she stomped off in a huff, leaving Roy speechless and dazed.

There was an awkward silence; then Hughes chuckled. "She's right, you know."

Roy turned away in a huff, but didn't say a word.

"Can't take being wrong once, Roy?"

He swiveled back around to face Hughes, snapping, "Stop antagonizing me!"

Hughes just shrugged. "No one's going to elect you as a president or member of the student government if you can't live with your own mistakes, you know."

Roy was silent. He knew. "I guess that's why I keep you around, Hughes. You always tell me what I need to hear."

Hughes nodded sagely, then brightened. "You know what you really need to hear right now?"

"…?"

"Today's pizza day!"

***


	6. Part Six

Shezka's anger receded slightly as she continued through the lunch line, grabbing a slice of veggie pizza and swiping her ID. She felt a little bad for snapping at someone she didn't even know, but she was worried about Winry, her first friend at her new school. Spotting Winry herself, Shezka jogged over to her enthusiastically, her chocolate milk dangerously close to spilling out of its glass as she ran.

"Hey, Winry…"

"Hi!" Then she noticed Shezka's tone. "What's wrong? I saw you talking to Roy… did he give you the cold shoulder? He does that sometimes, like this one time when –"

"No, it wasn't that," Shezka interrupted. "I'm just… worried about your safety."

Winry stared blankly for a moment as her brain connected the statements, then let out a sharp chuckle. "I'll be fine! Gosh, do you always worry this much?"

"But –"

"No one's ever gotten hurt before in a science class with Mustang." This time it was Winry doing the interrupting.

Shezka narrowed her eyes but said nothing else, giving up the argument for now to take a seat at her advisor table with Winry. On the other side of Winry, Edward Elric plopped down in his chair with an exaggerated sigh as if he was begging to be asked what was wrong. Winry and Shezka shared a quick amused glance, but neither of them said a word, waiting to see how long he would last before blowing a fuse.

He tapped his fingers noisily on the side of his lunch tray.

Winry let out an accidental giggle.

"…What's so funny?"

Both girls chuckled. "Okay, since you obviously are begging for my attention…what's wrong?" Winry asked.

"I'm not obviously begging for anything!" Edward retorted hotly, his face flushing. "You're always trying to interpret me. It's so annoying!"

"Mm…okay. But what _is _wrong?"

Edward twirled his fork between the real fingers of his left hand. "The people in my classes suck."

At this point, Shezka decided to insert herself in the conversation, even if she didn't know Edward very well. "Oh, come on, don't be so negative. It can't be _everyone_, can it? I saw you in my third-period history class."

"I didn't say _everyone_!" Edward grumbled. "I said people. Some people. Don't be so sensitive."

Shezka smiled.

Edward put his hands on the table and laced his fingers together. "Anyway, I have the worst possible science class." Winry raised her eyebrow. "I – I mean, besides you –"

"Not offended," Winry replied quickly, attempting to conceal her grin. "Continue?"

"Mustang!" Edward spat. "What a son of a -- and you know who sits right next to me? Jean Havoc, that disgusting smoker kid -- and those stupid, snobby rich kids –"

"Snobby rich kids?" Shezka blinked, feeling very left out.

"Yeah, I'll point them out to you," Winry said. "Look, see that table over there?" She pointed to one to their right, and as if on cue, the kids who were sitting there began to laugh in unison.

"…Yeah."

"Okay, here are their names for future reference. Going clockwise: Evan, Lara, Gary, Gregory, Sean." She motioned to each of them as she spoke their names with what seemed like a hint of contempt. "They're all related to Principal Bradley, and so they get special privileges from him…"

"Special privileges?" Shezka cocked her head.

Winry nodded. "They've won the elections of the student government every year. Most people think it's rigged, but Bradley never does anything about it."

"I hear Mustang's gonna be running against them this year," a new voice said, and a boy Shezka didn't know sat down next to her. He had reddish hair and was slightly overweight. To Shezka, at a glance, he seemed like a decent person.

Edward raised his hand in a half-wave. "Breda."

The new boy returned the gesture. "Elric."

Noticing that Shezka was looking a bit bewildered, Edward explained. "He's one of Mustang's _posse_." He almost spit the last word.

"I prefer the term 'group of friends'," Breda grumbled, taking a bite out of his slice of pizza.

The two glared at each other for a moment, and Winry once again had to break the silence. "Mustang's running for class president? Doesn't he know that's futile?"

Breda shrugged. "He says nothing's impossible."

"Well, _I'm_ not voting for that smug jerk," Edward muttered.

"Would you rather have Evan be class president?" Breda retorted.

Edward was silent for a moment, then signed in defeat. "Well, I guess if those were the only two options…"

"Exactly."

Edward quickly amended, "But that doesn't mean I like either of them! Because I don't. I hate them both. I just hate Evan a little more, okay? Make sure to let Mustang know that. I'd hate to put him under the false assumption I was supporting him." He said this all in a rush, as if he had a time limit for his words.

Breda rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll be sure to pass on those words of hate," he replied, in an obviously-condescending tone of voice. Edward chose to ignore this, digging into his pizza with staged concentration.

Shezka smiled, but the thought of the upcoming presidential election troubled her. Glancing back at the table, she saw Evan and Lara laughing with what appeared to be mockery of something, and for some inexplicable reason she felt sick to her stomach. These two kids… something was off about their personalities. The way they laughed, the way they looked… all of it was hiding a deeper problem… but what was it? Shezka shivered. One thing was for sure – her gut feeling told her that the "snobby rich kids" would destroy their class if they were elected as the student government.

"Shezka, what's wrong…?" Winry's voice jolted Shezka out of her distressed reverie.

"Uh…" For a moment, she was in a daze; then the words came to her. "Oh. I was just thinking… that when the time comes for student officer elections… I was… going to vote for Roy… for sure."

Winry laughed lightly. "Is that all?" But despite her attempt to reduce the tension of the situation, the darkness in her eyes gave it away: she felt exactly the same as Shezka.

In unison, the two girls glanced over at Evan's table, then back at each other.

Shezka smiled weakly. "Yeah. That's all."

***


	7. Part Seven

"…Hey, Mustang, care to give me a light?"

Roy and Havoc had met up after school, discussing what pointless school drama had transpired that day. The latter was fighting to contain his increasing anger. "Can't you go without smoking once in your life, Havoc?!"

Havoc winked, twirling his static cigarette. "If you do it, I'll vote for you."

Roy grumbled something nasty under his breath about loyalty. "You're going under the assumption I _have_ matches. The people at the front gate went through my stuff and didn't find any, remember?"

"Hm." Havoc raised his eyebrow skeptically. "You wouldn't be Roy Mustang, pyromaniac extraordinaire, without your fire, now would you? You've gotta be hiding them somewhere. Now spare one and give me a light, wouldya?" He waggled his cigarette in front of Roy's face.

_Pyromaniac extraordinaire…? _ "…Fine!" Roy snapped louder than he meant to, alerting Havoc to the fact that he was successfully pushing Roy's buttons. Havoc smirked.

Roy set his pack on the ground and began to rummage through the outside pocket until he pulled out a pencil case. Unzipping the case, he pulled out an ordinary-looking pencil and popped off the eraser, then shook the pencil upside-down. Rather than lead, a match fell out the top of the pencil.

"How clever," Havoc said, chuckling. "People at the front gate wouldn't think to uncap every one of your pencils, now would they?" When Roy scowled silently, Havoc continued. "How many decoy pencils have you got in there?"

"Decoy pencils…" Roy muttered, obviously exasperated by Havoc's dramatization. "Twenty. Thirty pencils total." Quickly and efficiently, he struck the match against the side of his backpack, and grimaced as he used it to light the cigarette in Havoc's outstretched hand. "I feel used." He blew out the match and tossed it, grinding it into dust with the heel of his boot.

"Thanks," Havoc said, ignoring Roy's last comment and sticking the cigarette between his teeth.

"You do realize that's a disgusting habit and you're probably going to die early from lung cancer because of it?" Roy asked, coughing hoarsely as the wind blew a cloud of smoke into his face.

Havoc shrugged.

Desperately, Roy tried to sidestep the smoke, but the wind seemed to be taunting him, blowing it in whatever direction he went. "And you do realize that secondhand smoke can kill also, and that you might be slowly murdering me by smoking?"

Another shrug. "No one's forcing you to hang out with me, you know."

Roy blinked smoke-induced tears out of his eyes. "Yes, but –" He sighed, knowing it was useless. Havoc's drawly way of speaking and lackadaisical attitude often got on Roy's nerves, despite how hard he tried to maintain a level temper.

"You know, you look pretty stupid right now, running away from a cloud of smoke," Havoc commented.

Roy whipped around angrily, opening his mouth to make a sharp retort. "Maybe I should take another match out right now and –"

"Yo!"

_That voice!_ Roy swiveled around to see Hughes jogging, almost skipping towards them in a jaunty fashion. "How's the future president of the student body?"

"Honestly, I'm fed—"

Hughes cut him off abruptly. "Just passing by, but I can't stay, though, because… I'm going on a date… with Gracia!" He smiled winder than Roy thought was physically possible on a face.

The pyromaniac's patience was thin. "Go, then! Just go. I don't want to hear another word about your perfect girlfriend, or I'll… torch you or something. Just go."

Hughes chuckled, but continued on his way. "Jealous much?" he asked as he left, but before Roy could think of a snappy comeback, Hughes was too far away to hear him.

"I better go too," Roy said gruffly, glancing over his shoulder as a last-minute check that none of the other boys were coming. "I told Riza I'd be at her house by now. She's was, er, assigned as my study-buddy. Apparently to make sure I'm actually doing my homework like I'm supposed to…" He stated this last fact with more than a hint of mortification.

Havoc's eyes twinkled knowingly. "Yeah, okay. Have fun '_studying_'," he chortled, playfully blowing a cloud of smoke in Roy's face.

He coughed. "I will," he replied, face deadpan as he ignored the jab. With a final look of annoyance at Havoc, Roy turned and left, his black coat blending in with the dark of the city.

***

_Where is he?_

Gracia bit her lip nervously. Not only was Hughes not early, as he usually was when he took Gracia on dates, but he wasn't even there, and it was fifteen minutes past when they had arranged the get-together. With one last desperate look out the door to make sure he wasn't coming, Gracia took her cell phone out of her purse slowly, stalling in case he showed up in the next few seconds. Deep in her heart, however, she felt he wasn't coming at all, and something was definitely wrong. This was confirmed when she dialed his number, held the phone to her ear -- and it didn't ring. The call went to voicemail.

"Maes? Where are you?" Gracia's voice shook as she spoke into the phone once the beep to leave a message had sounded. "This isn't like you. Is something wrong?" Then the hang-up button. _Call terminated_ on the screen. She stared at it for a few moments, her mind churning. What should she do? After deliberating she decided to give a quick call to Roy Mustang to see if he'd seen Hughes around.

"Hello, Gracia," Roy replied cordially when he answered the phone. "What's up?"

Gracia tried to sound casual. "Oh, well, nothing really, I was… just wondering… if you'd seen Hughes around, that's all."

"Hughes? Yeah, I saw him a while ago… he said he was going to meet you…" Roy trailed off, sounding concerned. "Is he not with you?"

Gracia swallowed. "No, and I tried calling his phone and it went straight to voicemail… I'm… it's not like him."

"No, it's not." Roy sounded nervous, more so than Gracia had ever heard from him. "Something must have happened to him to hold him up," he continued, confirming her fears.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Gracia replied with a weak attempt at laughter. "What should I do? Should I try calling him again?"  
There was a pause. "No… if he's not there by now he probably won't come… tell you what. I have to walk to Riza's place, and I'll look for him on the way there… but otherwise, we'll have to just ask him about it at school tomorrow. Okay?" Roy's voice was soft, trying to reassure both of them.

Gracia sighed. "All right. Sorry about the panic."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a little worried too," Roy answered dryly. "See you tomorrow, Gracia…" And before waiting for Gracia's departing "goodbye", Hughes' friend hung up, leaving her silent and alone.

***


End file.
